1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a motion-stopping safety system for workers, in one aspect for roof workers, and to gripping anchors which, in one aspect, are usable as roof-gripping anchors.
2. Description of Related Art
Often it is dangerous to work on a roof or elevated structure. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations requires that a motion-stopping safety system or an alternative be used by workers working on certain roofs with a ground to eave height greater than 16 feed (4.9 meters). Such workers are to be protected from falling from all unprotected sides and edges of a roof. Employers are required to train employees to recognize and deal with the hazards of falling associated with working near a roof perimeter.
The prior art discloses a variety of attempts to make the roof working environment safer. U.S. Pat. No. 3,237,717 discloses a roof rigging system to which a roofer is anchored. The system employs a plurality of brackets disposed on a roof interconnected by flexbile cables and tubular rods. Anchor lines are connected between these apparatus and the roofer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,713 disclosed an attachment member for roof peaks to which a roofer attaches a safety line. The attachment member is a strip of metal, bent double, with a hole in it for receiving and holding a hook attached to the safety line. Nail holes in the metal strips allow the attachment member to be nailed to a part of a roof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,245 discloses a roof safety cable system with a plurality of cable supports and cable holding plates. A tether extends between a worker on a roof and the cables.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,137,487 discloses a safety belt for scaffolds and a C-clamp shown as attached to a flange of an I-beam. An arm extending from the C-clamp abuts the I-beam and has a rope or cable connected to it which extends to a worker's safety belt.
Research and Trading Corporation's booklet, "Fall Protection and Emergency Descent Systems," discloses a variety of line, webbing, lanyard and cable systems which are connectible to a variety of cables and supports for worker safety.
There has long been a need for an efficient and effective motion stopping safety system. There has long been a need for such a system which can be easily manipulated, emplaced, removed, and re-emplaced as workers finish in one area and move on to another. There has long been a need for a relatively simple roof safety system which will stop a worker's motion when she or he nears the edge of the roof. There has long been a need for a gripping anchor useful in such systems which is easily manipulable, strong, and can accommodate a variety of roof edge configurations.